Stargate: Dark Frontier 2x03 Verve Part 1
by Lone-ranger1
Summary: Atlantis has outrun the Shade, the Olim, and now it finds itself with an abundance of time. The tension on Atlantis is peaking, and unless things are rectified, everyone is doomed. Adapt or die. Evolution knows no mercy and nothing ever stays the same.
1. Chapter 1

**Stargate: Dark Frontier**

**Season 2 **

**Episode 3– Verve Part 1  
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---------- 307 days in Hoag's Object ----------

---------- 5 days AOI (After Olim Invasion) ----------

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For information on Season 1, go to

http(COLON)//sg-darkfrontier(DOT)wikia(DOT)com/wiki/Stargate(COLON)_Dark_Frontier_Wiki

**Previously on Dark Frontier:** _Atlantis has outrun the Shade, and now are on their way to an Ancient Outpost that Sam found in the Seeder Ship database. Nothing has gone right, and there's been precious little time to grieve or plan ahead, until now._

_Daedalus has reunited the Traveler Fleet, and now leads them in a mission to save what is left of Pegasus. Tension is high all around, and something's bound to snap.  
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_Nothing will remain the same, and our heroes will learn that sometimes it's not what we do, but rather what we do well that matters.  
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**Laura Cadman:** "Alright, we've got two mission objectives: One, find the settlers on the planet, two, bring those settlers back. Any questions?"

**Aralus:** "Yeah, what exactly are we supposed to tell them? The big lights in the sky are gonna rain fire down on them?"

**Laura Cadman:** "Excuse me?"

**Aralus:** "Whoosh! Big Black spear head in sky! Spear head throw fire! Must be god! Aooga Booga Worship!"

**Laura Cadman:** "Ten million sperm and _you_ won the race? No wonder the Olim wanna kill us."

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_Warnings for this episode, severe language, implied adult situations._

* * *

"Coming out of hyperspace in five minutes, long range scanners still haven't picked up anything." John tiredly announced their ETA to the coordinates Sam had procured. Four Traveler Coffees and enough Dexedrine to wake the dead, and John was at the limit as he sat on the control chair of Atlantis.

In the control room, Sam still managed the city, or what remained of it. 3500 people was only a little more than half the population that had been left from Pegasus, the other 2500 were spread out in villages dotting Hoag's Object and the Traveler ships and _Daedalus._ Without knowing where Atlantis was though… it would be difficult to find them and not risk alerting the Shade or Olim. "Bring us in far away from the planet, John, just in case the Shade pop up; I don't want to fight gravity, too." A little pessimistic but a sensible precaution.

Behind Sam in the control room, Nevas and Daniel were both watching. Both had gotten a few hours of sleep and were ready to take over, Sam had been up just as long as John and it clearly showed in the bags under her eyes. Nevas turned to Daniel, still a little surprised that the archeologist was wearing a motley mix of Traveler and Settler clothing. "You think this planet'll have anything?"

Daniel shrugged, and wondered how Teyla was doing trying to explain to the Settler evacuees about the quarantine put on them. He was still a little ticked off at Sam, but he understood that she'd done it for the good of them all. It still didn't reprieve the action though. "Probably, but it's been such a long time since the Ancients were active in this galaxy that I really have no clue."

Nevas sighed as he settled into his chair. "Yeah well, you win some you lose some…" Seeing Daniel give him a curious glance, Nevas chuckled. "Dan taught me that, I got off on the wrong foot with him, but he's alright."

Glad to be off the subject of the city's affairs, Daniel huffed. "Speak for yourself."

* * *

"We've got a lock, subspace beacons. I think its _Navras _and _Alenko." _Ry called out the pings on the sensors as _Daedalus _came out of hyperspace.

Kevin smacked his dry lips. With so many people on board, rations were the only way to keep everyone fed. Not that he was hungry, just annoyed that most of his crew were sharing quarters. "Send a signal out, make sure they're okay."

With another four Traveler ships trailing, _Daedalus_ had now become a leader in a rag-tag fleet. Only a few of those ships had been fully upgraded with Railguns and Asgard Beaming technology though, so they'd steered clear of any potential Shade.

The only good news was that so far, none of the Settler villages had been attacked by the Olim. Kevin figured their hyperspace technology wasn't as advanced as _Daedalus'_ or even the Travelers', and that gave him a distinct advantage.

In fact, Kevin was finding it rather hard to come to grips with the idea that even _Daedalus_ alone could annihilate the Olim.

"Incoming transmission. Its _Navras._"

So now, as he neared the third closest village to where Atlantis had been on Saudade, it was a welcome surprise to see _Navras, _and _Alenko. _Standing up, Kevin sighed as he reached down and pressed the communication open button. On screen the Captain of the _Navras_, Larrin's old second in command, Delek appeared. "Marks…good to see you made it out. We've been searching for days and when we couldn't find you or Atlantis, we figured a Settler tribe'd be the best place to look."

Kevin gave a sigh of relief. That left only _Sobek_ and _Medai_ missing, though _Sobek's_ crew was on _Daedalus _ and the ship was likely still attached to Atlantis. The normally forty crew of the ship was pressed to the limit with almost four hundred people. Only the upgrades the Travelers had made to life support systems were keeping them all breathing. "Good to see you too. We've been busy. What happened to Atlantis?"

Delek sighed and bowed his head. "Dunno…about an hour after Carter and Sheppard made it back with Larrin, Shade started filling up the system. We got away with Atlantis, but they were following us. We stayed with them for two trips in hyperspace but we couldn't keep up, our engines couldn't take so much use so fast."

Kevin bit the inside of his lips. Delek had just given him hope and dashed it away. No matter. "Alright, then we're going to have to assume that Atlantis is out of communication at very the least. Did they have any idea how the Shade were tracking them?

"Not a clue, they evacuated Saudade and we didn't stick around."

Kevin nodded and motioned with his head. "Alright…I'll have you beamed over once we're in range. We're evacuating the Settlers to our ships and keeping mobile. The Olim might strike back and we need to be ready for them."

Delek raised an eyebrow. "Strike back? What happened out there? Sheppard and Carter mentioned an ancestral ship but they didn't know what happened. Did we get our people back? Where's Katana?"

Jalen who was off to the side could see the sucker punch to Kevin's midsection. It was obvious that the old professional he'd known for almost a year was gone. Kevin took a second to compose himself and then spoke quietly. "…Katana's gone Delek. But we're still here and we need to work together."

Delek's face became sullen. Something told him Katana wasn't the only casualty apart from all those on Atlantis.

* * *

"Scans?" Sam turned to Chuck who with one arm, ran the scan from the control room.

Chuck bit his lower lip, his arm still in the sling. The scan was quickly completed and the planets came into view on the screen beside him. "Looks like a hypergiant, a few gas giants, an asteroid belt… actually it kinda looks like the Sol system apart from that big blue star."

Nevas, who'd now gotten up and was leaning on the wall nused. "Sol? As in a '_soul'_?"

Sam blinked a few times as she tried to process the question, at her level of exhaustion, she came to the erroneous conclusion that the solar system she used to call home was called Sol for that exact reason, it was the soul of humanity, not some little thing about the sun being named Sol in Latin.

Unfortunately for Sam, Daniel replied as he was just a little fresher of mind having gotten some sleep. "We call our home planet's star 'Sol.' Sol comes from Latin, which is actually remarkably similar to Ancient, or Ancestral language. So we call our home system the 'Sol System'."

Looking over to Sam, Nevas could see that she was too far gone to really care at this point. Just another thing he sighed over. "Cool. Better than 'Lantea' if you ask me."

Unwilling to join the conversation, Sam simply keyed her communication button. "John… do you see the fourth planet?"

Chuck smiled slightly to himself. It seemed he wouldn't be getting any third rock from the sun jokes in anytime soon. John replied over the speakers. "_Yeah, looks like we're getting a weak signal from there, too. Setting course."_

It didn't take long, but for the few people that had been up the longest, Sam, John, and even Laura who dozed merrily off to the side using Chuck's jacket as a pillow as she snored softly, it seemed to take forever.

John used Atlantis's outboard sensors to get a good look at the planet and he called it out as he pieced it together in his mind. "Looks like a big red dead rock."

As Sam brought up John's image on the viewscreen, she winced in frustration. The planet indeed looked quite dead. Her mood wasn't improved by Chuck's musing. "Kinda looks like Mars."

Turning to Chuck, Sam made her point clear. "We're _not_ calling it Mars, Chuck. Check for any signs of life, and see if you can find the Ancient Outpost that's supposed to be on it."

Another tense few minutes passed, slowly edging through the asteroid belt with chunks of rock the size of houses skimming past the shield. It wouldn't be much longer to get a full view of the planet.

It wasn't until they were nearing the planet itself that John began to speak again. _"Wait… wait I'm getting a reading. Zooming in."_

With Atlantis's cameras zoomed in, everyone in the control room could see on the large screen as what appeared to be a ship began to circle around the planet. Sam was instantly on guard, but as the object crested over the horizon, it became clear what it was. Nevas was the only one to actually speak as the visually impressive construct came about. "Sweet merciful Ancestors…it's a space station!"

Sam huffed once and then again in odd delight. She'd always assumed the Lanteans or Alterrans had developed some form of orbital stations. This was all the proof she needed. "Scan it. See if it's habitable." She could tell already it likely wasn't, but for a space station to be here meant…

John's voice interrupted everyone's thoughts. "_Hey, the planet's not dead! Look."_

And look they did, the spiky looking space station was in geosynchronous orbit above a single ocean. Not even an ocean per say, only about the same as the Mediterranean on Earth, but even so, it would be _more_ than enough for Atlantis's needs. Sam smiled to herself that _finally_ something was going right. "Forget the station. Get us on that planet, John. We need to assess repairs and catch our breath." Turning to Daniel, she could see the stink-eye he was giving her. She knew that if she tried to keep going at this rate, Daniel was going to stun her and she would be too physically weak to stop it. Sam didn't say anything though and simply forced herself to breath, as well as remain awake.

* * *

Atlantis had landed without a hitch and despite the damage to the city, and the relative chaos of the trip, Ronon had found several dozen people willing to explore the coastline of the ocean, the only place that had any plant life.

With his arm freshly stitched by Carson, and the cut on his face healing into an angry looking scar, Ronon had decided to go ahead with the exploration despite Carter's suggestion they wait. That's all her orders meant to him now, suggestions.

She was supposed to be a soldier. He'd seen that warrior spirit in her before, when they'd fought the Wraith and the Asurans, he'd even seen some of it while attacking the Olim, but ever since making it back it'd been disaster after disaster. Carter had made a lot of choices for a lot of people who didn't call her leader. Ronon found that detestable.

But then again, that's what the Earthborn did, didn't they? An entire expedition to an unknown galaxy, and they'd taken Atlantis and hardly used it to fight the Wraith. Whenever they _did_ try, it ended up badly. Michael had killed hundreds, would have killed many more if the Replicators hadn't stopped him.

In fact, Ronon could probably blame the Earthers for everything that had gone wrong with Pegasus, millions of lives, all gone because of the mistakes of a few. He knew he wasn't the only one to think this way, but he also knew something else. As much as he wanted to blame Earth, the people who were here now were the ones to save everyone here.

They just took it too far and used their knowledge of the city as leverage to be in charge. Ronon could accept them. They'd betrayed their own armed forces and planet to save these people. Whether he liked, loved, or even hated them was irrelevant. What did matter was what happened now that things had gone FUBAR.

The trip over on the Traveler shuttle was simple and, as he stepped out into the acrid air of the mostly dead planet, Ronon was amazed that there were as many trees and plants as there were on this planet. The daytime sky burned in the air, the sun a bright yellow as it passed therough the red atmosphere. It wasn't anywhere near what planets in Pegasus had, but Ronon remembered something Carter and Daniel had said about the Ancestors not using a device to create habitable planets in this galaxy. In the end it didn't matter much to him.

The volunteers that had come with him were mostly settlers and a few Travelers. The Settlers quickly began to examine the plant life and the ground itself, seeing if it was any good for cultivation. The Travelers on the other hand used scanners to check to see if there were any old Ancestral facilities or ruins left.

Ronon began sniffing, and he caught the scent of a creature. Nothing too special about that, different animals tended to smell differently based on what they ate and how often they bathed. On Sateda, he'd trained by stalking small forest creatures that rarely ever bathed, only when it rained really. His senses were honed, and with the last few months on Saudade spent focusing on his predatory instinct, this planet seemed almost boring.

One of the Travelers, a young woman cautiously approached Ronon. He could see she was terrified, but he couldn't tell if it was him or the planet itself. "Ronon, right?"

Ronon growled softly in his throat, Aleron's words about family came to his mind and he tried not to focus on it. "Yeah."

The woman was tiny compared to him, a little over five feet and probably just over a hundred pounds. She looked like she spent the majority of her time around computers and machinery given the way her light broen hair was tied back to prevent it from going into her eyes, the red bandana she wore on her forehead, and the almost casual way the small scanner in her hand seemed to blend into her posture. What showed of her arms was toned though, it looked like she wasn't used to being strong. Probably one of the people who'd gone through the more intensive training Sheppard had instituted. "We uhh… we've got some readings over there. It's probably ruins but umm…" She pointed off to the side, then brushed a few errant strands of hair away from her face as she struggled to look up at Ronon. "I… could you… I mean…?"

Ronon had dealt with this for awhile now. Every so often a Traveler woman would proposition him. He wasn't a fool, all that training definitely had an effect on the women around him. Maybe that was part of the reason he disliked the Travelers so much. the way these matters of the heart were almost a frivolous thing.

He'd avoided arguments simply by walking away or spending time with Teyla. Any dealing she had with the Travelers was usually handled by Daniel, whom many of the Settlers had come to see as a strange sort of bridge between the different cultures. The archeologist had even taken to training with Ronon every so often, usually twice a week. Daniel was in the best shape of his life and Ronon knew Teyla appreciated that.

But Daniel was also more Settler than Traveler. Daniel loved Teyla, and he'd never even consider being with another woman. Unlike Dan… Dan who had originally been quiet and a warrior had evolved into a Traveler. Ronon had no idea what the man was thinking being with so many women. He understood that while his personality was different, that warrior spirit was almost the same. But Dan was twisted, something had bent his moral compass and the natural flow of life was skewed. Ronon would never accept Dan's way of life, but he could appreciate the warrior within.

Was that what Aleron meant? That even if he didn't agree with what Carter was doing, should he still tolerate them and help with the greater good? Looking down at the Traveler woman who was obviously terrified to be talking to him, he grunted softly. "How far?"

A scream cut their conversation short as it carried across the field next to the beach where they'd landed. Everyone instantly went on guard and Ronon drew his Particle Magnum .

Rushing forward, uncaring of the issue, Ronon found several settlers with basic knives and slings guarding against something. The underbrush of a thick grouping of trees that blocked the view deeper inside was disturbed and still moving, something big had just pushed through. "What happened?!"

One of the Settlers, a young man named Devik pointed in fear while readying his sling. "Something grabbed Alana! We didn't even hear it coming! It just jumped out and yanked her into the trees!"

Looking around, Ronon could smell the sweat of the excited and terrified Settlers. Several Travelers had caught up to them in the frenzy and aimed their weapons at the trees. Ronon looked on the ground and didn't see any footprints, but he did see thin wisps of something bluish white. Kneeling down, he used a finger to touch it. It stuck to his hand and wouldn't release easily. It almost reminded him of webbing. He looked up to the trees and could see the thin trail led up to a broken branch. It was a thick and sturdy branch and would need more than just a touch to break. He snarled softly and realized he was dealing with a creature that could jump from branch to branch, and likely used the webbing as a sort of net to catch prey.

Realizing that he was the only one here who could track, let alone take on one of these creatures, Ronon looked to the Travelers. "Go back to Atlantis, get as many people with guns down here and set up a small base." He then turned to Devik. "Get a fire going and set up camp, work with the Travelers coming back to defend the area. I'm going after her."

The head Traveler, Roland, looked to Ronon with surprised expression. "Alone? Fuck that, I'm going with you."

Right off the bat, Ronon knew that Roland was one of Dan's "groomed" Marine trainees. He never heard any other Travelers or Settlers use language like that. They'd always use their own epithets. Despite the obvious hard training, tracking wasn't something Dan taught, or if he did, not at Ronon's level. "No. Stay here with the Settlers and set up a perimeter. I don't want _anyone_ else going missing." He then looked to the dozen people who now gathered around him, obviously looking to him for leadership. Deciding that it was his for the taking, it was also his for the delegating. Looking to the Settlers, he could see that Devik was the only one with any sense of leadership. "Devik's in charge until reinforcements come." Seeing the Travelers begin to protest in their body language, Ronon added with a look to Roland. "Roland's on defense. Get a camp going and keep it safe." He looked respectively to Devik and Roland as he spoke,

Both men looked to each other, and seeing as Ronon was now beginning to move off, silently nodded in agreement. Ronon felt oddly pleased with himself as he began to push through the shrubs tracking the creature. He'd done what no one had done before. He'd gotten the Travelers and Settlers to work together.

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	2. Chapter 2

It had taken awhile to find her and John was a little surprised to see Alicia leaning on a railing by the balcony near the infirmary, her head bowed as if in prayer. He knew Alicia was a bit spiritual at heart, but he'd never actually seen her pray.

As he moved closer though, John could tell from her body language that she wasn't in a good mood. "Hey."

Turning just enough to see him out of the corner of her eye, Alicia then turned her face away from John and shook her head. "What do _you_ want?"

Not having dealt with Alicia's attitude for quite a few months, John was a little taken aback. "…Well now I don't know anymore."

Alicia groaned softly and rubbed her face with her hand. John could see something had bothered her severely. "_Oh…_ I'm sorry… it's just…" She sniffled once, long and hard. That's when John realized that not only had something bothered her, but she was emotional.

John sidled up next to her. He was exhausted and was about to go see how Sam was doing, but decided to check on Alicia's progress with Aleron. Given her state, he assumed it hadn't gone well. "You gonna be okay?"

Alicia sighed, still refusing to meet his gaze. "I don't wanna talk to him, John… She woulda killed me… you don't know how close it was…"

There hadn't been time to get a full explanation out of Alicia about her fight with Aquilina, but John had been able to deduce from her words that it wasn't an easy one. The knife in her leg had been a clear sign as well. "…I've been there. I know."

Sniffling again, Alicia wiped the area between her nose and eyes. She hated crying like this, but with all of her team away, and no one in the whole damn city but John willing to talk to her, she couldn't help it. "She'da killed me… she woulda stabbed me in the chest. Doesn't get more personal than that." She bit the inside of her lips to suppress the sniffle, and opening them and gripped the railing tighter. "I was _this_ close... Now there's a bitch out there with insane armor who wants to kill me, And she's only out there because _he_ didn't let me finish it."

John perfectly understood Alicia's position. He took a few deep breaths before speaking in a hushed tone. "…Have I ever told you about… Kolya?"

Alicia shook her head, she didn't notice John's hesitation. "No… who's Kolya?"

The memories were more than just that. John still woke up some nights on the edge of his dark dreams. He wondered what it'd be like to wake up and have someone else in the room on one of those nights. "He was a Genii Commander. First year we were in Pegasus, he invaded."

Alicia still didn't face John, but she'd stopped sniffling as she listened to the story, John rarely spoke about his past and it always was for good reason. "Like the Olim?"

Shrugging, John continued with as little expressive emotion as possible. "Sorta, Kolya led the invasion." Neither said anything for a few moments, and after another deep breath, John continued. "Kolya killed two of my men, and tried to kidnap Doctor Weir. I thought I killed him but… He got away." Gulping now, John closed his eyes as he thought about the horror's he'd endured. "About two years after, he…_captured_ me. He had a Wraith feed on me so he could blackmail Atlantis."

Opening his eyes, John saw Alicia had turned and was looking at him. Her eye makeup had run from her tears, and her uniform looked like it hadn't been cleaned either. John could see her jaw trembling as she spoke. "How'd you survive?"

Another of the moments John didn't know whether to consider a good or bad thing. "The Wraith that fed on me… he was a prisoner too. We teamed up and he gave me back what he took." John sighed heavily and winced. "That was the same Wraith who we teamed up with for Asuras… so I don't know…"

More than a little comforted by John's camaraderie, Alicia took a long breath through her nose, and then made her point. "I don't want to deal with Aleron. I… I just…"

John reached out and put an arm around Alicia. He couldn't blame her for getting a little emotional. She hadn't been through the same ordeals he'd been through and she certainly didn't bury her worries like he did. In some ways that made her less of a competent leader, but John could see potential. Alicia just needed a push. "Leese… she _would_ have killed you, but Aleron _could_ have killed you. There's a huge difference in that." Seeing her give him a surprised look, John elaborated. "Think about it. He could have killed you and blamed her. We never would have known the difference. I want to know _why_ he spared _both_ of you."

Alicia thought about it, her memories were bathed in adrenaline and endorphins, but she recalled something he said. "He _did_ threaten to kill me…" feeling the need to be honest, she sighed and wiped her eye with the back of her left hand. "…only if I killed _her_ though."

Latching onto that, John continued. "I want to know why. He lost an _eye_, Leese. I don't think there's any better way he can prove himself."

Still resentful, Alicia hissed. "He didn't kill _any_ of them. He said he crippled one, and let Aquilina and some Olim fucker named Korpius go."

Silent for a few seconds, John then sighed. "Look, I'm not gonna bullshit you. I want you to do this because Aleron knows a _hell_ of a lot more than he's telling, but he already told me he doesn't know me well enough to trust me. I've asked Daniel and Carson to ask the easy stuff. I want _you_ to ask the hard stuff."

Realizing that there was more to this than just what had happened to Larrin, Alicia gulped and bit her lips. Bucking up the courage, she realized what John was asking. "You wanna play Good Cop, Bad Cop?"

A little bashful, John rubbed the bridge of his nose. What had begun as a small chat to see how she was doing had spiraled into a tough commander's nightmare. "…more or less. I can't do it because I've got a different plan for how I'm going to deal with him. You've already got your foot in the door. I'm just asking you to kick it down."

Alicia caught his wording, and looked up from her bowed head. "'Asking'? Are you ordering me to do this?"

Resisting his chuckle, John realized that just like he'd done with Sam, he had to come to an agreement with Alicia about the chain of command. "If I made it one, would it make a difference?"

Wetting her dry lips, Alicia thought about it for a few seconds. She forced her emotions down as she looked at the man next to her and thought about him as only a commander. She realized he must have done the same with Carter, and seeing how they still worked together well, even went into battle together, Alicia felt shame for wanting to tell him to screw off.

It wouldn't be soldierly or noble, and saying what she wanted to say would only dishonor her, so Alicia swallowed her pride and decided to act even if it wasn't something she wanted to do. "No…. but I'll do it." Taking deep breaths, Alicia figured in for a penny, in for a pound. "Remember what you told me when you promoted me? About…" She wiped the little bit of moisture from her face, and tried not to grimace at the light mascara that came off with her hand.

John understood right away, and pulled her in for a hug. He'd wanted to try and avoid these kinds of situations, but this was too much. With half of the Earthborn on _Daedalus, _including her team whom John understood had become her family, he was the only one she knew well enough to talk to among those left as Ronon… well John didn't want to think about what Ronon had turned into according to Sam.

Alicia quickly accepted the hug, and dropped her head onto his shoulder as she squeezed him. John could feel just a dot of moisture through his t-shirt, his leather uniform having been left in Sam's office. John rubbed her shoulder as he held her, silently giving her support. It was obvious there was a lot more than just Aleron bothering her, but John wasn't about to pry into her life unless she asked him to, and she hadn't.

Pulling away after a few seconds, John brushed away a few errant strands of hair from Alicia's face and motioned. "Get some sleep. Aleron's not going anywhere and you look like crap."

Alicia gave a small scoffing laugh as she wiped her eyes again, she sniffled and gave a genuine smile. "Thanks, cuz I feel like _shit."_

Pulling her along, John quickly noticed that her limp had worsened. He recognized right away that her leg was complaining loudly and stopped them before he got off the balcony. "Leese. I'm sorry."

Giving John a curious expression, Alicia asked genuinely. "Uhh, what for?"

Replying as he moved, John reached around Alicia and scooped her up into his arms. "This."

Alicia instantly lost her dejected vibe, and began giggling and playfully slapping him. "John! Put me down! _God this is so embarrassing."_

John simply shook his head and moseyed towards the transporter. "Carson said you needed a few weeks to heal fully. What kind of commanding officer would I be to let you push yourself that hard?"

Already having understood that, Alicia merely tried to enjoy the ride. "You'd be _my_ CO."

Happy that he'd been able to cheer her up, John shrugged and deadpanned. "Too late, I already am."

They both chuckled as Alicia hung onto John's neck as he carried her. Once they'd gotten through the transporter, it was only a short walk to her quarters. When they entered, John instantly noted that the typical mess there was before on his occasional stops here for a game of Halo or even to pick her up in the morning for a training session had improved markedly. She was keeping her room _very_ tidy.

That didn't stop John from chuckling at her plushy collection on the sofa as he set her down on the bed. "Get some rest. I'm serious. If I catch you screwing around with that leg, I'm going to tie you down _myself."_

Alicia snickered, and tried to get the image John's words brought up in her head to go away. Dan had evidently rubbed off on her. "Ha-ha…" She couldn't bring herself to say anything else., She knew if she opened her mouth she'd say something she'd regret. So she just settled for John's final little hug, and tucking her in. Alicia finally couldn't take it anymore, and reaching up with her head, gave John a little kiss on the cheek.

John froze for a moment, and then leaned down himself and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He quickly got up and walked out of her quarters

Alicia stayed in the bed for a few moments, and then felt her leg complain _yet again._ Even worse, she knew that unless she had a cold shower right away, there was no way she was going to sleep tonight.

----------------

Freshly showered, Sam sat down on her bed and drew a long deep sigh. She'd forgone pajamas in favor of the inner layers of her uniform, the relatively skin tight clothing was remarkably comfortable, and kept her body temperature regulated. She'd gotten quite a few of them as rank did have its privileges.

Sleep was imminent, and it was going to be _good, _but at the same time, she was worried. What would the next day bring? She'd screwed things up royally now and with the planet being so barren in comparison to Saudade, supply was going to be a problem.

She winced hard and rubbed her face. Supplies, damage assessments, salinization of the water… it was all tangible, hard logic. But she'd focused on that for so long that she'd missed an entirely different aspect of being a leader. It was an aspect she knew dammit! How could she have gotten so focused on Atlantis and her own problems to forget _the people_?

She didn't forget _all_ of them but those that she didn't forget were for _other_ reasons. Daniel, Larrin, John…

What kind of leader did that make her? That within a year of being separated from Earth she'd managed to lose control to such a degree that the city had been invaded, and dozens were dead? What would Hammond think? What would her _father_ think?

Looking out towards the balcony, Sam could make out the broken remains of Tower D7 and 6. It was a painful reminder that the reason those towers that had stood for countless eons was because of her negligence.

Sam was a good leader… a good _military _leader. But all this civilian and family and villages… it just eluded her. She knew how to fight and how to decode scientific problems; something Mila said came to mind. Hyperdrives were easier than people.

Truer words she'd never heard. How could she face them? How could Sam bring herself to face Larrin, a woman who'd been such a strong leader to be…_damaged_ by the Olim. Sam felt shame over what had happened to her friend. Larrin had even gone so far in the past as to help Sam pick out clothing when she refused to wear Atlantis Uniforms out of guilt and shame… it seemed that those were the predominant feelings in her recent life.

Proving that there is a flow and ebb in the universe, her door opened to a tall figure entering slowly. She'd only allowed herself and John access, so it was easy to tell who it was.

_God_… they hadn't even worked out how they were going to _have_ this relationship and not mess up the command structure, let alone sleeping arrangements. Not that she was going to say no if he wanted to stay. Nothing seemed better than cuddling up to him for some comfort.

Neither said anything. John had showered as well but was in his standard clothing, dark uniform pants and a black tee. Sam was quite appreciative that he'd kept up his training, something she herself had neglected a bit, but she was by no means out of shape.

Sitting down next to her, John rubbed his face as well. He dove right into the conversation. "Things are moving along… Ronon's on the mainland checking things out. Nevas and Laura have the control room. Leese, Carson, an' Chuck are sleeping. Radek… well he's alive. Carson couldn't give me an accurate prognosis. We've got nine hours to rest up before we take over again."

Sam nodded, and shifted over to put an arm around him. John quickly pulled her in and wrapped his hand around her head. "Larrin?"

John shook his head. "Still no sign of her. We've called her over the PA. Nothing. With so many people in the city we can't even track her down using internal sensors."

Sam sighed heavily and lifted her legs up onto the bed. Tucking them under her body, Sam now leaned heavily on John, enough that more of her weight was on him than directly on the bed. "You'd think the Lanteans could have made a better system… guess they never had to deal with missing people like that."

John shifted on the bed as well, and pulled Sam up close to him in a full body hug. He'd been wondering exactly how they were going to come to this point, but it'd been surprisingly easy. If only everything else were. "We're still looking, but Nevas is holdin' em together. He's a lot smarter than he looks."

Snickering, Sam yawned as she replied. "That's not that difficult."

John snickered as well, and brought his head down to nuzzle her. _God_…_why does this make a person feel better?_ John curiously pondered as he begun to snuggle with Sam, how could intimate contact help with stress this way?

Feeling the sleep begin to overtake him, John fought it off when Sam spoke again. "John… I need to tell you something… something I'm…" Sam sniffled once, and took a long deep breath before continuing. "…_something I'm a little ashamed of."_

Quite perplexed, John shifted his body back onto the bed to get ready to get some sleep. "… Uhh… Okay."

Sam hated that she'd come to this conclusion, but she was a logical person and didn't deny the truth. She could have never seen herself admitting this to anyone else, not even… but then again, she'd never been this close to someone before knowing it wasn't desperation."…When we find Larrin… I don't want you to go see her."

Shocked at her words, John shifted her off him so he could look her in the face. "The hell? Why not?"

Sam huffed in frustration and put a hand on John's chest trying to calm him down. "No no… let me explain… When we find her, we're both going to go see her to make sure she's okay… but…" struggling to get the words out. Sam whispered the last bit. "_I don't want her taking comfort from you."_

John didn't know what to say. Sam was _jealous._ He didn't think it was possible. "Uhh…damn, uh… I…"

Dropping her head onto his chest as they sat up in the memory foam bed, Sam continued with her confession. "Don't get me wrong John. I… I know you're not going to… well… I just know. But that doesn't change the fact that she's my friend and… and I wanna help her. But at the same time, I _don't_ want her to…" Wincing again, Sam gripped John's shirt as she tried not to think about John and Larrin together. She'd taken the plunge into this and Sam was going to be _damned_ if she drowned in it. "I… I just want you to know that. They say an honest relationship is the best so… so I…" She couldn't say anymore, not on this subject anyway.

John remained silent for a few moments. How _had_ it come to this? He'd gotten into this position, being here in the same bed with Sam because she knew his pain and she'd been there for him. Larrin had given him more pain that any other woman except maybe Nancy, and Alicia… Alicia was something he didn't even want to consider. He'd thought Sam was above things like this. And evidently, while she wasn't, she _was_ logical enough to try and deal with these issues instead of burying it. If he'd married her instead of Nancy, his life might have turned out _a lot_ different.

Not saying anything, John simply pulled Sam's head up from his chest. Her eyes were glistening with moisture, but she wasn't crying. Pulling her face close, John brushed his lips across hers and tightened his hug around her.

Sam moaned softly from the embrace and relaxed her posture. Slowly she tugged John down onto the pillow and cuddled up as close as she could to get comfortable. John shifted as well, and soon they both found a position they liked. Before she went to sleep though, Sam whispered softly. "_John?"_

_"Yeah?"_

Taking a few moments, feeling her eyelids already pushing down, Sam just spat it out. "_I don't know if I can do this anymore."_

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

_"What are you…?" _Rafaela couldn't believe it. She'd come here to talk with Dan, find some kind of solace that maybe the soldier knew, and before she knew it, the argument that had broken out over what she wanted from him had somehow degenerated into a full bodied kiss.

Even more, when he'd pulled away, Rafaela leaned forward to _keep_ kissing him. So when he'd held his ground, keeping her firmly arms length away, Rafaela didn't know what was going on.

Dan summed it up quickly as they both sat on the bed, now their fifth day on _Daedalus _under the assumption Atlantis was gone. "_What_ do you want from me, Rafaela? Don't bullshit and don't give me some clichéd answer about wanting '_help_.' Five days you've been moping around me and I'm sick of it. Just tell me what you _want._" Seeing Rafaela too stunned to speak, Dan continued his request. "Come on! Do you want a hug? Do you wanna cry? Do you wanna _fuck? _Just say it dammit!"

Feeling her emotion overtake her, Rafaela began to blurt it out, ending with a scream amidst sobs. "I want to forget… I want to feel better… I want to forget that my best friend is in a _freaking coma_ and might never wake up! I want to be able to sleep and not think that maybe she's got a hole in her stomach _because of me!"_

Unfazed by her scream, Dan huffed once. "It's not your fault. You're an idiot if you think that."

Rafaela lunged forward and grabbed Dan's shoulders to shake him. "_You think I don't know that!? _Of _course_ it's not my fault, but why did I come out of that fight with a little scratch, and she came out in a coma!?"

Her furious shake had turned to a quiver and she cried unrepentantly on Dan's shoulder. She didn't care if the entire hallway heard her now. All she wanted was to feel safe again, to feel like maybe the next shot wasn't going to be her. Death was something she'd never experienced in her life before. No one she knew had ever passed on and seeing her best friend now literally on the edge and having witnessed it happen firsthand Rafaela knew she was losing her mind.

Dan remained still. He hardly seemed affected, but he wrapped a single arm around Rafaela. "…You haven't answered my question. What do you want from _me?"_

Uncaring of any consequences, only knowing that right now, with Atlantis likely gone, and aboard a ship full of angry Travelers, Rafaela knew the only safe place for her was right here. So Rafaela relented. "Can you help me forget? Just… just forget how screwed up things are right now?"

Dan understood plainly what she was asking. Already she'd been awkward around him in public after their first night in the same room. She'd been able to sleep on her own after that but something must have set her off today. Probably the fact that Reyna's estimate of a few days for Dusty to wake up had passed and nothing had happened. Dan didn't think twice. "I can help you forget… at least for awhile." He moved in to whisper to Rafaela, who'd stopped crying but was obviously still emotional. "I'll only do it if you know it doesn't change anything between us."

Rafaela had heard about Dan's way of clearing the air before any shenanigans. She could almost laugh at just how calm, cool, and collected he was. "… yeah… yeah I know. Just…" she sighed, and finally pulled herself away. Rafaela pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her whole body, coming to grips with what she was about to do. "… I know,"

To her shock, Dan then asked another straight faced question. "You on the pill?"

A little embarrassed by the question, Rafaela blushed as she answered. _"Dan!"_

"Hey, I take stupid risks for a living. Why should I bring work into the bedroom?"

Unbelievably embarrassed, Rafaela knew he wouldn't move on unless she answered. It was mortifying as she said. _"…yeah… yeah, I have an implant."_ Silently she reminded herself that the Implanon would only last a few more months before needing to be replaced or changed for another form of birth control. Not that she ever used it but… well, she'd just proven those SGC med techs right and she could never be too careful.

Dan simply nodded, and reached forward to pull her into a hug.

Rafaela hated that she was allowing this to happen. Maybe the horny teenage inside her was ecstatic, especially since she had a thing for fit guys, but this wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind at the time.

* * *

Laura was _tired._ But the Dexedrine in her system was keeping her alert, if not fully awake. Nevas was somehow still focused and coordinating the teams of mixed Traveler and Settlers, checking inventory levels, handing out food and water rations, even beginning basic repairs to the city. It'd been a few hours since John and Sam went off duty now. With Ronon aon the mainland and everyone else getting some shut eye…

Laura? She was busy trying to figure out how less than a hundred trained security officers were going to control the population that was here already. She didn't even want to consider the other almost thousand Settlers who were going to be evacuated from the planets they'd claimed as their homes for the past year out of fear of reprisal from the Olim.

Maybe she could stir up some volunteers. She'd have to screen them through Nevas first to make sure she didn't put a raving lunatic like Sylek in charge of Armory security. The cordoned off area of tower D7 and 6 were more than testament to the need for order and civilian control.

Just a few months ago Laura was shocked that she'd become a stock broker, and now she was quickly becoming the chief of police.

The gate began to dial with an incoming wormhole, and Laura desperately wished that Chuck would wake his ass up and take over operations again. She amused herself with thoughts of waking him up using an airhorn she kept in her room. That'd teach him for falling down a flight of stairs!

The Travelers had gotten used to it, but a lot of them were still shell shocked. They weren't soldiers dammit! They'd spent their whole lives on ships avoiding other people. Frankly, she was amazed so many of them were friendly. Stretching her neck, Laura moved over to check out the incoming wormhole.

Tedran had come in fresh from a full eight hours of sleep. He quickly checked the incoming wormhole. "Getting a signal… it's our team. Lowering the shield."

Laura wanted to say something about due process, making _sure_ it was their team through radio communications instead of just a signal. A signal could be stolen, duplicated, or even misinterpreted. For all Laura knew, a dozen of those crazy armored Olim were going to charge through. Or a dozen of those huge Shade Gremlins, or even more likely, a wormhole connected to the afterlife and Frank Sinatra was about to walk into the Gate Room to serenade her with a lullaby. Something to bring up during the next meeting of the command staff, whenever _that_ was going to be.

Instead, just the Traveler team came through, but they didn't look very pleased. Nevas got up and motioned Laura to follow him. She did, but mostly out of just some sense of doing something to avoid the lethargy.

The Travelers who'd gone to inform the Settler village seemed distraught. In their relatively normal Traveler clothing, Laura could have sworn they'd just come back from a stroll. "So what happened? Where is everyone?"

The leader of the group, a Traveler named Aralus who'd managed to pass Dan's Marine Corps training, huffed once and shook his head. "They're gone. The village is empty. Looks like they ran and took everything they could carry. Don't have a fucking clue where they went."

Laura winced hard and rubbed her face. This was _not_ going according to plan.

* * *

Ronon had lost his sword back on Asuras, Todd had kept it and Ronon didn't even know if it existed anymore. What he _did_ know was that this new Trinium blade some of the technicians on Atlantis had made him made the old one seem like a butter knife. It was sharpened down to a single molecule, and Ronon had tested it against the trees of Saudade. Even the dense hardwoods had been felled by a single mighty thwack.

Using it to cut through the underbrush, however dry it might have been, felt almost like overkill. The dry and tangy air was contrasted by the gentle sounds of waves on the beach. Ronon had no idea how waves were made so he simply ignored it. Ronon would use it to cleave whatever creature had taken Alana. She was still alive, Ronon was sure of it. The only thing he missed about his weapons was the Wraith hair he used as a grip, a reminder of who he was fighting and why.

Right now, the only thing that mattered was that he could still smell Alana's sweat, but not her blood. Whatever had grabbed her had taken her alive and was keeping her alive…for now. Ronon knew he didn't have too much time before that changed though. He'd already been tracking for several hours.

* * *

Rafaela had thought she was speechless. What had happened was… _way _different than what she'd expected. Dan _certainly _knew what he was doing. "If I'd known it could be like that… I never woulda bothered studying in university."

Dan huffed once in amusement. Rafaela was cuddled up next to him and on the brink of unconsciousness. He loved it when he heard crazy revelations like that though. "There's maybe five percent of guys who know how to do that, but they do ninety-five percent of the fucking."

It was a dirty joke, but Rafaela would have believed anything he said right now. All she knew was that at this exact moment, all she could think about was the fact that Dan had made what she figured was a little over an hour feel like a week. If she needed any more proof of relativity, that was it, as she didn't even know what _day_ of the week it was. "I believe it. I could get used to that."

Dan remained silent, and simply watched as Rafaela shifted slightly, her legs _still_ quivering under the sheets. It'd been a _different _experience for him as well, and he felt oddly impressed with himself over Rafaela's reaction. Then again, she wasn't like all the others.

That's what had Dan worried as he watched her fall asleep finally, a hint of a smile on her face. She wasn't like the other women in his life, women who just loved the cock and accepted that. Rafaela was about as close to innocent as Dan had found in a long time. Deep down Dan worried that maybe this was taking advantage, but he'd made it clear to her and if she went back on her word, Dan knew what to do.

* * *

Pacing along the top of the gate room catwalk with more energy than she had things to do, Laura kept shooting glances at the gate. The air in the control room was heavy, nothing was going right and the tension was mounting. The normally gossipy Travelers weren't saying much of anything. Most of them were the backup technicians since the majority had been kidnapped by the Olim and gods knew where now.

Finally the team she'd asked for arrived and she went down to meet them alongside Nevas. Of the four villages checked, not a single one had anyone left. Laura was quickly beginning to panic. She was exhausted, but she _had_ to see this for herself. "You sure you can handle things? Wear a white wig and I'd swear you were a Wraith."

Laura rolled her eyes at Nevas's question. "Please, wait till Halloween if you want me to scare the crap out of you." Turning to her team of Travelers, Laura sighed softly. This would be her first time completely on her own as far as EarthBorn, so she decided to try and be civilized. "Alright, we've got two mission objectives: One, find the settlers on the planet, two, bring those settlers back. Any questions?"

The one Traveler who'd been in the lead earlier, Aralus scoffed. "Yeah, what exactly are we supposed to tell them? The big lights in the sky are gonna rain fire down on them?"

Laura tightened her facial features, she'd heard that the common Travelers didn't see the Settlers as on the same level, but having only really spent time with the Travelers who'd wanted to do USAF and USMC training, as well as those in the control room, she had no idea exactly what the huge problem was. Nobody ever said anything aloud while she was around. "Excuse me?"

Unflinching, Aralus waved his hand about in front of him, his particle magnum on his hip bouncing as he mimed. "Whoosh! Big Black spear head in sky!" His tone was mocking, and the stereotypical "dumb" voice that seemed universal. "Spear head throw fire! Must be god! Aooga Booga Worship!"

The other travelers chuckled at Aralus's antics, and Laura realized that _being_ civilized, and _acting_ civilized were two _very_ different things. "Ten million sperm and _you_ won the race? No wonder the Olim wanna kill us."

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

Hours now, Ronon had seen the sun beginning to set and started to worry. It was difficult enough to track an airborne creature in the daytime with light, now in the dark, it was going to be next to impossible.

That didn't deter him though, and Roland had finally caught up to him in the Traveler Shuttle buzzing overhead. _"Ronon! I'm picking up lifesigns all over the place, nothing big enough to be Alana."_

Snarling, Ronon sniffed the air, and listened carefully. A lot of small animals were moving, but they were moving away. Strange, most animals that didn't know humans were unafraid of them. Ronon had killed more than his share on Saudade to give them a healthy respect. These were running from something else. "You sure?"

A few moments passed and the shuttle above him spun around again. "_Nothing human… but I'm getting some weird signals from right outside the forest. It's far from the beach. We might be able to land nearby."_

Backup, a lot of people would cause a stir and animals _would_ run from that. Perfect. Only predators would stick around then. "Do it, I'll follow you." Ronon began to head in the direction of the shuttle, now steering away from the small ocean.

* * *

"The fuck is that?"

The Villager turned to Dan and set the strange looking table down. "It's a birthing cradle for our livestock."

Shuddering in mild disgust, Dan barked. "We're going on a _space ship, _as in limited space! If you think you're bringing any animals up there with you, think again. Take only what you _need_ or _can't_ replace." Dan felt oddly relaxed. It was always like this after a night like last. Rafaela was probably still asleep in his bed given how lethargic she'd been the past few days. It was a good thing too. She needed the rest.

The Settlers were worried. Dan had been honest and told them the score plainly and simply. The Travelers had just sort of moved in and demanded they evacuate, but Dan had ironically been more diplomatic. Must have been Alicia's nagging getting to him.

A young woman came scurrying towards him, and Dan instantly noticed the way she was terrified. "Captain! The ring activated! Someone's coming through!"

It was only about a hundred feet from the gate to the village. A few trees were in the way, but it was overall a clear path. Dan instantly went on guard and nodded. "Go! Get everyone you can and get to the evac point! Move it move it!" His scream got everyone into action and the few Travelers on the ground with him quickly assembled. Dan spat fire orders. "Flanking positions! Hold fire till I give the order, long range only!" Dan pulled his particle rifle's stock to a Carbine length, ready to engage at range.

The other Travelers all understood his orders clearly. They quickly assembled a defensive firing line using dense objects like rocks or bunches of wood as cover, putting the intense training Dan had put them through to use. Dan moved ahead and used a tree as cover, peeking out to see if he could make out the targets.

An activating stargate in a galaxy where there were only a few things known to activate them meant trouble. Dan looked to his team, mostly men and women he'd been training to handle situations like these. Live fire training had hardened them and they were prepared, though at the moment, the way the settlers quickly panicked and ran in the opposite direction made Dan nervous.

With exaggerated slowness, Dan clicked his radio and whispered. "_Daedalus… this is Drake. We've got possible hostile contacts around the gate. ETA on evac?"_

A few moments passed and Jalen's voice came through just as softly. "_We're pushing transporters to the limit. Need at least ten minutes to get all the supplies and people distributed around the fleet."_

Cursing softly, Dan took a few deep calming breaths. Iraq hadn't killed him. Some Olim son of a bitch wasn't going to either. "Copy. We'll buy you that time." Putting his radio away, Dan let his body slide down the tree, making himself the smallest target possible. On overcharge, he could probably take one or two of the Olim bastards down before they could react. But he had to be sure it was Olim and not Shade, or they were _screwed._

Extending his hand with his watch on it, Dan used the reflection to look around the corner, he gasped as he recognized the spunky little redhead at the forefront. Getting to his feet now, Dan called over the squad com radio. "Hold your fire! Friendlies!_"_ Stepping out, Dan held his rifle at the shoulder _just in case._

The redhead had heard Dan's call and her own team had gotten into fighting positions. She spotted Dan a few seconds later and chuckled. "Dan… you lucky ass son of a _bitch!"_

Smirking now, Dan lowered his weapon as he came closer to the group who lowered their weapons as well. "I could say the same about you, except the 'son of a' part."

Laughing almost crazily, Laura holstered her weapon and walked right up to Dan and gave him a big hug. Dan was a little surprised, but he quickly recovered and hugged her back. It felt good, knowing that with her being here, that meant at least some people from Atlantis were alive.

His relief was cut short when Laura whispered into his ear. "_Don't get any ideas. I'm just glad you're alive. I'm not about to bend over and drop my pants."_

Unwilling to be teased like that, Dan pushed Laura away to arms length and deadpanned. "You like doggy?"

As was their custom now, Laura gave Dan a decently hard punch to the chest in protest, but her smile overrode her anger.

* * *

"Please follow your assigned guide! They'll take you to quarters that have been set up for you! You can use all the water you like, but food rations will be distributed soon!" Teyla yawned after calling out to the incoming Settlers as she waved them through while down in the gate room. Laura was over by the side speaking with Daniel who had been coordinating the evacuation alongside Nevas.

_Daedalus_ and the Travelers were alive, and even more, the Settlers _hadn't_ been eliminated by the Olim. Teyla had found that Kevin Marks was an even better man than she already thought. His selfless charge to rescue them from potential attack had won a place in her heart. The settlers who were on Atlantis were ecstatic. After running from the Shade, and hearing that their people still on their separate planets were at risk, it had been somber few days. Teyla herself felt quite relieved at the lightening of her heart.

With proper coordinates now, _Daedalus_ was bringing the entire Traveler Command Staff and Council back to Atlantis for a full summit meeting, while sending the majority of the non-_Daedalus_ crew through the Stargate including Captain Drake. The wounded were also sent through, led by Reyna.

Teyla had also managed to convince the Settler leaders, most of the elders and tribe leaders to take part. There were going to be so many people gathered that the conference room wouldn't hold them all and it'd have to be held in the mess hall.

Teyla hadn't seen either John or Sam since they'd gone to bed. Given that they'd stayed up throughout the entire crisis, it wasn't shocking that they'd need more than a few hours sleep. Teyla was finding it different to be on Atlantis again. She'd built quite a lot for herself and her people on Saudade, and along with Daniel, most if not all of the Athosian children were much more independent.

She missed Atlantis. The few times she'd seen John or even Carson had been nostalgic and she only wished that now it wasn't during such a hard time.

To her surprise, John walked into the control room looking much more refreshed. "John? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"

Using his hand to motion the Settlers who looked at him towards the exit where they were being split into families and different villages and tribes, "I'm good. Never could sleep more than seven, eight hours at a time." Sidling up next to Teyla, John watched the settlers move through carrying their belongings. "Sam's still sleeping, but she'll be there for the meeting."

Teyla could see that John was worried, and feeling the need to reassure John that he wasn't alone, she put a hand on his shoulder. "John…"

Turning to Teyla, John sighed softly. He'd missed Teyla, he'd missed her a _hell_ of a lot more than he wanted to admit. Reciprocating the move, he told Teyla more with his arm around her shoulders than his words ever would.

* * *

Sighing softly, Carson wiped his face with a wetnap. He'd gotten a few hours of rest, and now he was back to watching over the most critical patients. Evidently _Daedalus_ had been found and they might have casualties.

Most of these patients were still on the edge, he'd done all he could medically and all that was left was the will of the person themselves. Forty deaths since the invasion began, and almost a hundred injuries. It was the most carnage he'd seen since working as a Triage Doctor back on Earth and a massive pileup from a motorway had arrived to his hospital.

Radek was barely conscious, and Carson could barely understand why. The small flat and wide Trinium projectile had caused tremendous damage to Radek's lower torso, and had actually broken the C7 spinal disk on impact. Carson couldn't ponder at the uniqueness of Radek having the C7 disc, but he could tell exactly what had happened thanks to the ancient scanner. If Radek had to be treated with purely earth technology, he'd have been crippled for life. The fact that he'd not succumbed to the coma was tantamount to a miracle.

As Carson began to go over the potential treatments they could use, he heard familiar light steps and a voice. _"Alright, be careful with the air flow, don't let it get constricted."_

Getting up, Carson watched as Reyna stepped into the hospital ward leading a gaggle of helpers who brought in an additional group of patients. She looked dreadfully tired, and her cheeks and eyes were puffy. Carson knew his own were as well and knew damn well why.

Reyna turned from the incoming orderlies and spotted Carson looking at her. It had been hell thinking Atlantis was gone, and she could only imagine what Carson had been through as well. She walked forward daintily and smiled at Carson. "Sorry I took so long."

Feeling a deep inner desire to laugh, Carson chuckled and pulled Reyna into a hug. "It's okay. I'm just glad you're all back." He then let go, and looked at Reyna who had a sad almost wistful smile. "I'm glad you're back."

Reyna nodded and then bowed her head and closed her eyes. "Not all of us…"

Carson had expected that, every time someone stepped through the stargate, took a jumper or a ship out, there was a risk of not coming back. Carson had resolved that issue of his psyche a long time ago. His time spent with Michael had hardened him to death even more then med school had, but he hadn't let it harden him to human comfort. Carson could feel Reyna's anguish through her skin on her exposed forearms as he held her still. "Come on lass, let's get everyone settled in and take a look at the critical patients you've brought."

Reyna drew in a harsh breath, and let it out in an attempt to regain her calm. "Only one critical, the rest are stable."

It was plain that Reyna knew the critical patient given her reaction, so Carson quietly asked in the midst of the newfound chaos. "Who is it?"

Reyna bit her lips, swallowed the pain, and replied evenhandedly. "It's Dusty, she's in a coma."

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

Looking around every few seconds, Rafaela couldn't help but feel that people were staring at her as she stepped onto Atlantis again through the Stargate. It was like she could sense their eyes drilling into her from all sides, all knowing what had happened. _God…_ she couldn't even blame alcohol like Alicia did about that hilarious video Dusty had showed her.

Dusty… a woman who'd survived a dozen skirmishes with the Ori, Wraith, Replicators… to be so badly wounded and potentially die from what amounted to humanity in another few hundred years, felt ridiculous.

Dan had said nothing, almost as if he didn't even realize what had happened. Maybe he didn't, maybe he was telling the truth about what it would mean between them. She hadn't seen him since he beamed down to the settler village, and she didn't want to see him. Not yet anyway. Rafaela had beamed down with the majority of the Settlers, getting to Atlantis faster than Kevin could with _Daedalus _by using the stargate.

She spotted Sam, John, and Daniel up in the control room and decided to try and get some company of her own people. People who wouldn't be looking at her and questioning why she looked so isolated. Rafaela quickly checked her thinking; _her people? _Since when was she so… divisionist? Rafaela was so confused with the situation she couldn't even come up with a proper word for what she felt. But whatever she was, all she could think about was what Dusty had told her the night before the shit hit the fan, how she needed to start opening up to more people.

Even so, she'd already climbed the stairs and found John, Sam and Daniel all turning to greet her. "Uhh, hey."

The three exchanged quick glances, and Daniel spoke first. "Hey, welcome back."

John added his own greeting. "Good to see you're in one piece."

Giving John a slightly annoyed face, Sam then turned to Rafaela. "It's good to see you're alright, Rafaela. I can't tell you how worried we've been about you all."

Seeing that they didn't seem to notice at all the apprehension she had about being caught, whether they could even sense it or not, Rafaela pushed it aside and tried to be as succinct as possible. "Yeah, well… we ran into the Shade and…"

John held his hand up silencing Rafaela. "We know. Captain Drake gave us the Cole's notes. We're going to have a full debriefing once _Daedalus_ gets here and we'd like you to be in it."

Sam furrowed her brow as she looked at John. "Don't you mean _Cliff _Notes?"

Daniel was a little confused as well. "You haven't been talking to Chuck have you?"

Shaking his head clear, John rubbed his temple and muttered something under his breath. It was unintelligible, but Rafaela could swear he'd cursed before speaking out loud. "Yeah yeah... that's what I meant. Sorry. _Brain_ _fart." _He definitely looked more than a little annoyed.

Sam turned back to Rafaela and nodded. "I think the best thing you can do is go get yourself checked out by Carson. I know Reyna was on _Daedalus_, but I'd prefer everyone get a full check…" Sam winced as she looked at the small cut on Rafaela's cheek. "He might be able to do something about that too. Wouldn't want a scar."

Touching the small cut, Rafaela took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah… yeah that's a good idea… I'll just…"

Daniel nodded with his polite and friendly smile and said. "We're not going anywhere. Get settled in, we're going to need everyone from Earth to be at this briefing." Daniel suddenly sighed softly and looked away. "You might also want to go see Radek, he's awake, and I think he'll be glad to see you."

Silently, Rafaela nodded and turned around, her body language saying fear. Sam sighed and turned to Daniel and John again. "I'm going to go and see how the Settlers are… settling in." Walking after Rafaela, Sam also seemed dejected in her body language.

Daniel turned to John and sighed as soon as the women were out of earshot. "Do you think Sam's gonna be okay?"

John watched the two women walk away, he then turned to Daniel. "You're asking me?"

Daniel shrugged. "I've never seen her like that. I'm worried."

"Ten years and you've never seen that before?"

Daniel shrugged and in all seriousness replied. "No. So what gives?"

Glad that Daniel liked to get to the point, John decided to respond in kind. "She's worried too, and she's got a lot on her mind. If she comes to see you in the next few hours… just listen. Don't talk, just listen."

Raising a single eyebrow, Daniel quipped. "Oh? What's she going to tell me?" John hesitated a second, and then answered softly. Daniel's other eyebrow raised in shock. "Uhh… _Scheisse._"

Harrumphing, John deadpanned. "You said it."

* * *

The sun had gone down and it was getting brutally cold. Ronon was used to it though. Running and fighting the Wraith often meant he had to go without creature comforts like a bed or warmth from clothing.

He'd found the strange creatures, and there was a pack of armed Travelers and Settlers behind him, ready to follow him in. Ronon felt like he was back on Sateda leading his team again. This felt right. "Stay together, whatever this thing is it's fast. Keep your guns on stun, don't wanna risk hitting me or Alana."

Behind him, he heard several weapons charging up, along with swords and bows being readied. The Traveler Particle Magnum may have been technological, but a bow was still just as deadly. Roland came up next to Ronon holding a Particle Rifle. "You think we'll find it in there?"

The cave ahead of them looked oddly familiar, it reminded Ronon of his worst nightmares, and the ones he knew Sheppard had had for weeks on end. "Yes. Shoot first, screw questions. Once I've got Alana, switch to overcharge."

Roland huffed once, but it was out of amusement and not incredulity. "Got it, we'll stick close to you and…"

Again, Ronon turned. "No. Stay here, I think there's more of them out there and once I go in, I don't wanna hafta watch my back."

Roland now seemed a bit angrier. "There's twelve of us. we did the Marine training, we can…."

Facing off with Roland, Ronon snarled. "I don't care _what_ training you've done with Sheppard, Vega, Drake or any fights you've had with the Olim. This is a _predator_ and you _aren't_ ready for this." Taking Ronon's arm angrily, Roland suddenly found himself with his back on the ground and Ronon's Particle Magnum in his gut. The wind knocked out of him from the shockingly fast strike, Ronon's breath was hot and spittle disgusting on his face. "Training is _nothing. _You can't track, you can't sense, and you _sure_ as hell aren't fast enough to mess with nature. I _won't_ let you or any of your men die because you're fools."

Regaining enough strength in his lungs, Roland spit back. "How do we _get_ experience if you won't let us go?"

Ronon gave Roland a wicked smile. "Boot camp is over. Dan taught you to be a soldier, I'll make you warriors." With just as much violence as he'd taken him down, Ronon now lifted Roland up with several of the other Travelers having their weapons drawn to him. The fact that Roland wasn't fighting back was the only thing that kept them from shooting.

Without another word, Ronon entered the cave leaving the Travelers and Settlers to work out between themselves what to do.

* * *

"So you've decided?"

Alicia _hated_ this. Not only was Aleron _still_ goading her, but he refused to even look at her. "Yeah, I have."

Alicia couldn't understand it, Aleron was standing tall and proud, his medium length brown hair fluttering in the wind. She could almost hear some strange heroic music in the background. The particle magnum in her hands was primed and ready to fire.

Aleron huffed once and raised his head. "Then shoot."

Having planned this out, Alicia raised her weapon with her one good hand and fired. The shot went over Aleron's shoulder and flew out into the daytime sky. To her surprise, Aleron seemed unfazed as the silhouette he created remained still. His voice was almost amused. "I'd say you missed, but I know you didn't."

_Ohh,_ she _really_ wanted to kill him. "I _won't_ miss next time. Now I've got some questions for you and I'm not going to take no for an answer."

Aleron chuckled again, and this time bowed his head out of sight. "Could I change clothes first? Haven't even had a shower or breakfast."

Continually reminding herself of what John had asked, Alicia snarled. "Fine. But you're going to tell me _everything._"

* * *

Teyla was having a hard time considering whether or not to walk over to where Sam was busy talking with a few of the common Settlers. She'd _never_ seen Sam do that before so it was certainly a shock.

In Pegasus, Teyla had always found Sam to be a good leader in an administrative sense. John and Rodney had both sung her praises, but Teyla hadn't seen much of what Sam could do until after Asuras. She'd given Ronon his own team, risked their assets and survival to save people she hardly knew, and then watched as Sam betrayed all she had been working for in the last ten years for those same people.

Teyla had thought very highly of Sam after the last battle of Pegasus, but over time, the Sam she knew in Hoag's Object had changed. She'd become reclusive, only talking to certain people, and mostly only the EarthBorn. The Settler leaders all respected her because the Travelers and EarthBorn respected her. Now? Now Alrich and the others were ready to demand she be removed for allowing the Olim to strike at them.

Without a clue as to what the Travelers were thinking, Teyla began to walk over to where Sam was talking to two young women. But suddenly, Sam's hand raised to her radio, and quickly she excused herself and walked away. Huffing, Teyla remembered that Sam rarely ever stayed at one place for a long time.

* * *

They hadn't even recognized her. Sam couldn't believe the conversation she'd just had. The settlers felt left out, forgotten relics of a dead galaxy. Even more, they were angry. Atlantis was the last home of the ancestors, the same ancestors that had died trying to save them.

And Sam had nearly lost it to the Olim. With her fresh mind from getting much needed sleep, Sam couldn't help but put two and two together. "…On the other side of the system."

Sam had just entered the control room, John had moved to the chair room and Daniel and Nevas were both watching on the screen as Atlantis's sensors were tracking a signal in the system. "What is it?"

Nevas turned, he was pretty tired now and wanted to take a nap, but they weren't expecting anyone for the rest of the day so he was worried. "Ship in the system, it's behind that icy gas giant though so we can't get a good scan."

Sam sighed and tapped her radio. "John?"

With only that word and tone, John knew what to reply with. _"Got it, it's got to get closer before I can get a good shot."_

The tension had mounted incredibly, no one could tell whether it was Shade or Olim and Kevin wasn't expected for another few hours since the Traveler ships were slower than _Daedalus_. No one wanted another running battle, even after some sleep.

Chuck used his one good arm to continue checking the scanners. "Alright, I'm getting reflections from some heavy metal asteroids… the other planet in the system… can't get a clear reading but it's swinging around the planet now. Zooming in."

The subspace scanner zoomed in, and the screen showed an icy blue gas giant similar to Neptune, with the hyper giant blue star in the background. They could see a dark splotch slowly cresting the horizon. Sam narrowed her eyes and focused. "Is that…?"

Nevas raised his eyebrows in surprise. "_Sweet Ancestors…"_

The ship came into view, it was hard to focus given that the sun was right behind it, but John quickly polarized Atlantis's camera and the image resolved.

It was _Daedalus_, and the countless scorch marks and patches the ship had from the last year of Traveler repairs showed. A large crack in the front panel of the ship gave the craft an intimidating look, It truly looked like it had gone to hell, punched out the devil and come back grinning.

Across the system, Kevin Marks sighed softly as _Daedalus_ finally reached a perfect line of sight with Atlantis, given that the sun was behind _Daedalus_, he was sure someone was taking a picture on Atlantis to use as a screensaver, Sam had done it with the nuclear explosion that took out three Wraith Hives, why not now? "Jalen, get us in orbit of the planet and get ready to beam down with me. Get all the other captains ready too."

Jalen nodded, and got up out of his seat next to Marks. There was a huge meeting coming up, and he was glad that he wouldn't be a part of it.

* * *

_End of Episode 23_

_Teaser for Episode 23.5 - Verve Part 2_

_- --------------- -  
_

**Radek Zelenka:** "Colonel Carter…"

**Samantha Carter:** "Call me Sam, Radek… "

**Radek Zelenka:** "Sam… it's a lovely name."

**John Sheppard:** "Uhh… what exactly did Carson give you?"

**Radek Zelenka:** "It's not the medicine, Sheppard. I… I feel right again."

* * *

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**Episode Notes: **Originally, Episode 23 was going to be called "Predator" and involve some of the same concepts. Sam after ensuring Atlantis was safe, Daedalus and Atlantis reuniting, but it had much much more focus on Ronon. During the writing process though, i flipped it around and turned it into a two parter to accomodate the entire finale of the Invasion Arc and give it the attention it deserves. . "Predator" has since been moved to later in the season which has actually been expanded somewhat. (At the moment it's at 22 episodes, but could jump up to 24 or even 26 given how the story is coming out.)

In other news, Neela is currently working on Chapter 8 of her fic, "Some Corner of a Foriegn Field" and if you enjoy Dark Frontier, i can almost assure you you'll enjoy SCoaFF. It's an angsty John/Sam apoca!fic with loads of great drama. It's a more "literary" read in that it doesn't involve much humor, but in execution it's quite riveting and very very full of intrigue, politics, and a tension that you'd need a chainsaw to get through.**  
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